Labeling device



IApril 14, 1942. E. L. SMITH ETAL LABELING DEVICE '3 sheets-sheet 1 Filed June 16, 1941 April-14, 1942. E. l.. SMITH ETAL LABELING DEVICE pril 14, 1942( E. l.. SMITH ETAL LABELING DEVICE Filed June 16, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Apr; 14, 1942 UNITED s STATES PATENT OFFICE LABELING DEVICE Elmer Lovell Smith, Longmeadow, and Edwin Alton Van Wart, Wilbraham, Mass., assign to Package Machinery Company, Springfield, Mass., 'a corporation ol Massachusetts Application June 16, 1941, Serial No. 398,222

I (Cl. 21S-55) 6A Claims.

This invention relates to labeling machines, and has particular reference to suction operated mechanism for removing labels successively from will prevent the withdrawal of a label by that picker head. which will later register with the particular pocket from which an article is absent. A further object is to provide such a mechanism in which individual valve means for each picker head is provided, responsive to the absence of an article, in addition to a second valve means operable in accordance with the rotation of thev label carrier. Additional objects will appear from the following description and claims.

Referring to the drawings: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the labeling device; Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a detail similar to a portion of Fig. 1 but with the parts in different positions;

Fig. 4 is a similar detail with the parts in a still dilerent position; and

Fig. 5 is a detail section illustrating the manner of withdrawing a label from the magazine. The machine is intended to apply a label to the outer surface of articles a held in a Wheel I0 (Fig. 1) having pockets formed of a bottom piece Il, a fixed end piece I2, and a movable end piece I I3 cam actuated in any desired way. The article may have a circumferential band applied while in the wheel, the details of this operation, as well as the construction of the wheel itself, forming no part of the present invention. The wheel carries a gear I4 meshing with a gear I5 on a label applying drum I6 journaled on a shaft I1 and thus driven in timed relation to the Wheel, which is preferably rotated intermittently as is usual. The drum carries a number of label applying heads I8 circumferentially spaced to correspond With the spacing of the wheel pockets, each one picking up a label from a magazine I9 and depositing it upon the article, preferably so as to cover the overlapped ends of the circumf ferential band.

Each head I8 has a block 2l (Figs. 2 and 3) preferably of rubber, provided with a pair of suction ducts 22 merging into a radial duct 23 in the drum. The latter duct enters a duct 24 extending to the lateral surface of the drum and covered by a plate 25 held in position byfa stud 25 secured to the drum and vengaging the plate by means of spring 21 as shown.. In what may be called the normal position-of the plate, an

arcuate groove 28 in the surface of the plate connects duct 24 with a duct 29 in the drum connected in certain positions of the drum with n an arcuate groove 30 .in a stationary platev 3I and joined by a pipe 32 with any suitable source of suction. In other positions of the drum .the l duct 29 connects with an arcuate groove 33-in the plate, this groove being connected to atmosphere. With the plate 25 in its normal position the head is brought underneath theA magazine I9, which is moved towards it by its supporting lever 34 into the position of Fig. 5. The duct!!! having at this time come into register-withvthe groove 30, suction is applied, operating to with-` draw alabel from the magazine past the usual retaining needles 35 as the magazine is moved away, (Figs. 1 and 5).

glue applying roll 36, and finally is pressed against the surface, of the article as the block 2I and article come into contact. At this time I g i' the duct 29 passes into registry with the venting groove 33 so that the suction is relieved and the label is left on the article. k

The magazine is supported by the rocking level' 34 xed to one end of a shaft 4I) journaled for rotation in the frame and also by a lever 4I pivoted at 42 in the frame; the frame being broken away in Fig. 4 to condense the view within the limits of the sheet. At its opposite end shaft has fixed thereto a lever 34"which is connected by a link 43 (Fig. l) to a short rocker 44 pivoted on the frame at 45. A second link 46 extends from this latter 4rocker to any suitable cam mechanism not shown) by which the magazine may be lowered and raised once during each dwell period of the drum.

It is desirable` that no label bc fed from the magazine by any head which will reach the wheel in registry with an empty pocket. and the novel mechanism provided for this purpose will now be described. The rocker 44 previously mentioned has xed to it an arm 5D having a set screw 5I in its free end and is coupled by a tension spring 52 to one arm of a bifurcated lever 53 swinging on the pivot 45 and bearing a detector 54. The other arm of this lever is provided with a boss 5I which is pressed towards engagement with set screw 5I by spring 52. Since the rocker is oscillated once during each rest 'I'he label is carried` around the drum past the usual moistening` orr 2 period of the wheel. the detector will feel for a package during the same periods, the spring52 permitting it to rest against the package if there is one present in `the pocket while the rocker continues to the end of its motion. but allowing the detector to enter the pocket if a package is absent. Thel detector is positioned to feel for an article in that pocket which will register with the head I8 which is about to pick a label from the magazine, see Fig. 1.

The detector bearing arm 53 is joined by a link 55 with an arm 56 fixed to a shaft 5]. This shaft carriesra stop member 58 adapted .when positioned as in Figs. 1 and 3, to interfere with an abutment 59 carried by an arm 60 fixed, together with arms 6I and 62 on a shaft 63, and to prevent counterclockwise rotation of these arms around shaft 63 as a pivot. Arms 60 to 52 form part of a mechanism used to turn of! suc'- tion from the head I8 approaching the magazine I9 if the detector fails to find anarticle in the pocket. v j

The stop member 58 is 'swung around shaft 51 as a pivot to various positions with relation to abutment 55 as follows. Spring 52 tends to hold screw 5I and boss 5I' engaged and when rocker 44 is rocked counter-clockwise to move the magazine I9 downwardly into position to engage the approaching head I8, the arms 50 and 53 will swing on pivot 45 and link 55 will move upwardly rotating stop member 58 counterclockwise from the position shown in Fig. 3. If, as the arm 53 swings, detector 54 finds an article the arm will be arrested as shown in Fig. 1 and the stop member will interfere with arm GII. In

this case, as will appear, a label will be picked up by the head I8 at the magazine. If on the other hand, there is no article present in the pocket the arm 53 will follow arm 50 and raise the stop member 58 to the position of Fig. 4, in

which position it does not interfere with abut-- ment 59 or arm 60 and the head I8 will not pick a label from the supply.

As the rocker M is rocked clockwise to its original position, screw 5I will engage boss 5I' and move stop member 58 from the position of either Fig. 1 or Fig. 4 to that of Fig. 3 at the same time carrying detector 54 to its lowest position. At this time, arm 50 will be positioned as shown in Fig. 3 so that 'abutment 59 will not interfere with this action.

Referring now to shaft 63 and the arms SII to 62 carried thereby, a rocker 6I, freely pivoted on this shaft, is coupled by a link 55 with the magazine moving rocker 34' and to the arm 62 by spring 65' so that as lthe magazine starts to descend the link 65 will be raised causing the arm SI to be swung counter-clockwise. An abutment 66 carried by the end of the arm strikes a roller G1 on the plate 25 which is at the time adjacent the magazine. This rocks the plate clockwise as shown by comparison of Figs. 1 and 4, so that as shown in the latter figure, the arcuate duct 28 is shifted out of registry with the duct 29 so as to cut off suction from the head. After the head has passed the labeling position. a .stationary cam I0 serves to return the plate to its normal position, contacting the roller 61 as shown at the right in Figs. 1 and 3.v A second roll 58 on the plate rides against a stationary ring 69 to avoid overtravel (Figs. 2 and 4).

In operation the plates remain in the positions inwhich they are shown in Fig. 3 throughout the rotation of the label applying drum as long as the supply of articles in the wheel 'is uninterrupted. Under these conditions the feeler 5l is kept from raising the link 55, and the stop 58 remains in the path of the abutment il. As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the abutment 8l is thus prevented from striking roll I1 and the plate 25 e is not rotated. The supply of suction to the heads is thus controlled only by the passage of ducts 29 between the two grooves 20 and 22. It an article is missing from one of the pockets the detector raises the rod I5 and moves the stop 58 upwardly as shown in Fig. 4. The arm BI being unobstructed, moves downwardly at the sam'e time as the magazine. rotating the plate rclockwise and' cutting off the suction from the head before the magazine is raised. No label will in this case be drawn from the magazine. Any desired way of pressing the labels into rm'contact with the package may be provided, sponge rubber rolls 1l being shown for this purpose in Figl. We claim: l 1'. A labeling machine comprising an4 article carrier having pockets for conveying a succes'-v sion of articles, a labeling carrier positioned to transfer labels successively to articles in the article carrier, a plurality of suction operated label pickers in the carrier, an article feeler, and suction cut-oil devices individual to each picker actuated by the feeler in the absence of an article for shutting of! suction to the picker.

2. A labeling machine comprising an article carrier having pockets for conveying a succession of articles, a magazine, a label drum having a plurality of pickers to transfer labels from the magazine to articles in the article carrier, means for admitting suction to each picker adjacent the magazine and cutting it of! adjacent the article,

an article feeler, and mechanism operated by the feeler for cutting off the suction from a picker independently of said means.

3. A labeling machine comprising an intermittently rotatable pocketed article carrier wheel, a label applying drum geared to rotate with the wheel and having a plurality of picker heads, a label magazine, means for moving the label magzine against a picker during each rest period of the drum, a source of suction, valve means normallyvoperable to connect each picker head with said source adjacent the magazine and to cut it off therefrom adjacent the article, an article feeler, and mechanism operated by the feeler for cutting the connection between a picker head and the source of suction independently of said valve means.

4. A labeling machine comprising an intermittently rotatable pocketed article carrier wheel, a label applying drum geared to rotate with the wheel and having a plurality of picker heads, a label magazine, means for moving the label magazine against a picker during each rest period of the drum, a source of suction, valve means normally operable to connect each picker head with said source adjacent the magazine and to cut it off therefrom adjacent the article, an article feeler, a rotatable valve individual to each picker, and mechanism operated by the feeler to rotate said valve to shut-off position in the absence of an article.

5. A labeling machine comprising an intermittently rotatable pocketed article carrier wheel, a label applying drum geared to rotate with the wheel and having a plurality of picker heads, a label magazine, means for moving the label magazine against a picker during each rest period of the drum, a source of suction, valve means y 2,279,844 l normally operable to connect each plclier head with said source adjacent the magazine and to cut it oli therefrom adjacent the article, an article feeler, a rotatable valve individual to each picker, a member movable to shift said valve to shut-oli position, means including a spring to shift said member in timed relation to the movement of the magazine, and mechanism operated by the feeler in the presence of an article to prevent the motion of said member.

6. A labeling machine comprising an intermittently rotatablepocketed article earriervwheel, a label applying drum geared to rotate with the wheel and having a plurality of picker heads, a label'magazine, means for moving the label magazine against a picker during each rest period of the drum, a source of suction, valve means normally operable to connect each picker head with said. source adjacent the magazine and to cut it of! therefrom adjacent the article, an article ieeler, a rotatable valve individual to each picker. a member movable to shift said valve to shut-oil position, means including a spring to shift said member in timed relation to the movement of the magazine, mechanism operated by w the feeler in the presence of an article to prevent the motion of said member, and means for resetting said rotatable valve means in its on position.

ELMER LOVELL SMITH. EDWIN ALTON VAN WART. 

